How Manchester United Rated Against Arsenal

Manchester United absolutely ripped Arsenal apart with an unreal 8-2 victory, which puts them top of the Barclays Premier League standings.

Rooney Was Center Of It All Against Arsenal

Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick, Ashley Young registered a double, and Danny Welbeck, Nani and Ji-Sung Park also tallied for the Reds as they unraveled their long-standing rival in the latest edition of the North-South Derby.

Was Rooney's treble of goals enough to earn United's Man of the Match, or did someone else do enough and put in a more influential performance?

David de Gea - 9
His superb save on Robin van Persie's first half penalty reset the tone of the match, but David also pulled off three or four of the finest reactionary saves one will see this season.

Chris Smalling - 9
Continuing to play out of his natural position, Chris put in one hell of a performance not only in defense, but also offer an attacking option.

Phil Jones - 8
Showed a combination of tenacity and composure in his defending, which was the main reason why Phil was chosen to start over the fit-again Rio Ferdinand in the center of the United defense.

Jonny Evans - 7
At fault for the penalty in the first half, but, after that, Jonny did show discipline against the Arsenal attackers.

Patrice Evra - 6
Will have to shoulder the blame for the Gunners' first goal, because he was nowhere to be seen, but Patrice more than made up for that by winning a penalty to earn his fellow teammate a hat-trick.

Nani - 6

Made some great runs and scored a very clever chipped goal, but, disappointingly, Nani was more interested in getting his own glory then helping his teammates.

Anderson - 8
Up against two inexperienced midfielders, Anderson was able to have a cake walk in the center of the park, which was personified by his clever scooped pass to break the deadlock.

Tom Cleverley - 7
Nearly added his name to the expanded score sheet, but even without that goal, Tom was unfazed and untroubled throughout the afternoon.

Ashley Young - 9
Scored two of the best goals you might see at Old Trafford this season, but Ashley was also influential in setting up chances for his teammates with his crosses and touches, which earned himself some assists, as well.

Wayne Rooney - 9 (Man of the Match)
Scored two well taken set pieces and a well placed penalty to secure his first treble of goals of the season, but Wayne was also instrumental getting his teammates involved.

Danny Welbeck - 7
Looked lively from the opening kick-off and opened the scoring with an intuitive header, but, unfortunately, Danny's day only last 35 minutes after he pulled up lame clutching his hamstring.

Substitutions
Javier Hernandez - 6
Came on for Welbeck and did well, but Javier is still recovering, and discovering his form after missing out on the preseason.

Ryan Giggs - 7
Came on for a 20 minute cameo and Ryan showed his experience and he was even able to pick up an assist on the day.

Ji-Sung Park - 7
Came off the bench and within two minutes Ji showed his class by scoring his first goal of the season.

Overall - 10
Manchester United put in a sparkling team display against an under-manned Arsenal team, but, take absolutely nothing away, because to score eight goals in Barclays Premier League match does not happen all that often, especially against an alleged title challenger.